Marin County

Parks Grants Designed to Inspire Visitor Diversity

Published

5 years ago

July 21, 2019

Board approves allocation of $190,000 from tax measure to support partnerships

The past five years, a grant program offered by Marin County Parks has helped underserved local residents have better access to parks and open space preserves, leading to better overall health and relationships throughout the community. With the same goal this year, a new round of grants worth a combined $190,000 was approved by the Marin County Board of Supervisors during its July 9 meeting.

The grants from the Breathe Community Grant Program (‘Respira’ in Spanish) are set up to foster partnerships with community organizations that share County Parks’ vision of expanding access to local disadvantaged residents for the enjoyment of Marin’s stunning natural resources. This marks the sixth year of Breathe/Respira one-year grants funded by Measure A, otherwise known as the Marin Parks, Open Space, and Farmland Preservation Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance of 2012.

The Marin City Community Services District, the San Geronimo Valley Community Center, and Bay Area Community Resources/ Slide Ranch each will receive $30,000 for various programs that boost social equity and diversity. Marin Community Clinics, North Marin Community Services, Tomales Bay Youth Center/West Marin Community Services, and Innovative Health Solutions/ Healthy Cooking with Kids are to receive grants of more than $10,000 apiece.

There are several new and exciting planned uses of the Breathe/Respira grants this year:

The nonprofit Love is the Answer (LITA) of San Rafael will coordinate with local assisted living facilities to bring aging adults to parks who typically don’t have a chance to leave their facility;

The Marin Museum of the American Indian in Novato will expand its programming by leading educational and historical trips to parks serving schools and other groups;

Bay Area Community Resources, San Rafael City Schools, and Slide Ranch have teamed up to add “coming of age” trips to Slide Ranch serving middle school students in addition to their after-school outings in parks.

With equity and fairness in mind, County Parks recently reduced the costs of parking at three popular parks by 50% and waived all fees at the McNears Beach Park swimming pool. A survey showed that entry fees, a lack of public transportation, a shortage of bilingual signage, or a lack of familiarity can prevent somebody from a fresh-air adventure close to home.

“In partnership with local organizations these grants nearly double our capacity to provide programs to local residents across the county,” said Max Korten, Director of Marin County Parks. “These trips overcome barriers to reaching the park and help residents build long-term relationships, so they return over and over. It can be life-changing.”

The Breathe/Respira program seeks to support community organizations that provide programs to underserved, at-risk, or vulnerable populations in Marin and promote health, wellness or environmental education in Marin’s communities. Efforts to date have aided members of Latino, Vietnamese, senior, youth, and disabled communities.

Learn more on the Breathe/ Respira Measure A Community Grant Program Overview or on the Measure A webpage.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Art

Marin County: A Snapshot of California’s Black History Is on Display

The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024. The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Early photo of Marin City in the exhibit showing the first department store, barber shop, and liquor store. (Photo by Godfrey Lee)

By Post Staff

The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

All will have the opportunity to visit and be guided by its curator Felecia Gaston.

The exhibit will include photographs, articles and artifacts about the Black experience in Marin City from 1942 to 1960 from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent California Room Collection, The Ruth Marion and Pirkle Jones Collection, The Bancroft Library, and the Daniel Ruark Collection.

It also features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro, and art pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag, Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University of California.

The exhibit explores how Marin City residents endured housing inequities over the years and captures the history of plans to remove Black residents from the area after World War II. Throughout, it embodies the spirit of survival and endurance that emboldened the people who made Marin City home.

Felecia Gaston is the author of the commemorative book, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City.’ Thanks to the generous contribution of benefactors, a set of Felecia’s book will be placed in every public elementary, middle, and high school library in Marin.

In addition, educators and librarians at each school will have the opportunity to engage with Felecia in a review of best practices for utilizing the valuable primary sources within the book.

“Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to learn from these significant and historical contributions to Marin County, California, and the United States,” said John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.

“By engaging with Felecia’s book and then visiting the exhibit, students will be able to further connect their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of this significant historical period,” Carroll continued.

Felecia Gaston adds, “The Marin County Office of Education’s decision to bring the Marin City Historical Traveling Exhibit and publication, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home’ to young students is intentional and plays a substantial role in the educational world. It is imperative that our community knows the contributions of Marin City Black residents to Marin County. Our youth are best placed to lead this transformation.”

The Marin County Office of Education will host an Open House Reception of the exhibit’s debut on Feb. 1 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.. All school staff, educators, librarians, and community members are encouraged to attend to preview the exhibit and connect with Felecia Gaston. To contact Gaston, email MarinCityLegacy@marinschools.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

New Marin County HHS Director Brings Breadth of Bay Area Experience

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services. She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

Published

4 months ago

January 23, 2024

Oakland Post

(File Photo) On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

By Oakland Press Staff

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

“We feel very fortunate to have someone with Dr. Warhuus’ skills and ability join our executive team,” said Marin County Executive Matthew Hymel.

“Throughout her career, Dr. Warhuus has demonstrated an ability to bring stakeholders together to effectively address our most complex community challenges,” Hymel continued.

With the County of Marin, Dr. Warhuus will lead a team of over 800 full-time equivalent staff positions and manage an annual budget of $258 million.

Her annual salary will be $288,433 with benefits consistent with those received by other department heads.

Most recently, Warhuus served as the Director of Health, Housing, and Community Services for the City of Berkeley. In that role, she oversaw a budget of more than $100 million and more than 200 employees across various divisions, including Public Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, Housing and Community Services, and Aging Services.

“It is a true honor to have been selected for this important position. I cannot wait to get to know the incredible community of Marin County and to collaborate with the dedicated team within the Department of Health and Human Services,” said Warhuus.

Before working for the City of Berkeley, Warhuus served as Director of Children and Youth Initiatives at the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Before that, she was an Associate Director. In that role, she “managed and cultivated partnerships that helped expand mental health programs in multiple school districts. She also championed culturally responsive health and wellness services that aimed to support vulnerable populations,” according to a Marin County press release.

For Berkeley, “Warhuus was also a vital member of the Senior Executive Team providing counsel to the City Manager, Mayor, City Council, and the public on matters pertaining to health and housing,” the press release continued. “Notably, she played a key role in initiatives such as the City’s response to COVID-19, contributing to the citywide emergency efforts, and spearheading the development of a 24/7 mobile crisis response for individuals facing mental health and/or substance use crises.”

Warhuus earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Berkeley and master’s and doctoral degrees from Aarhus University in Denmark.